Insurance through the cruise line

[trbarton]

I travel mainly with Princess Cruise Line. Are there advantages to purchase insurance elsewhere?  Do other policies offer things that my Princess policy doesn’t?

 

Tom😀

[klfrodo]

Good things about Princess Travel Protection

1. Plan includes CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) up to 100% if the Platinum plan is purchased. Paid in the form of credits not cash. Can cancel up to scheduled sailing time.

2. Plan is not age dependent.

 

Bad things about Princess Travel Protection

1. Medical is only good for up to $10K. (Remember that couple from Atlanta who got stuck in Cozumel hospital because they didn't have medical insurance and couldn't pay the bill? Even if they had Princess insurance, that wouldn't have helped for a couple of reasons. First, travel insurance is reimbursement only. Second, the bill was $14K)

2. Evacuation is limited to $25K

 

I use 3rd party for various reasons.

1. Usually less expensive

2. Medical limit is much higher (and you can pay for more) but the plans I choose usually is a $250K Limit

3. Evacuation is usually a $100K limit.

4. Some plans will pay directly to provider IF required and you can't pay

 

bad things about 3rd party

1. Must pay extra for CFAR

2. Policies ARE age dependent.

 

Cruiseline Policies are 1 size fits all. Buy it or don't

3rd party policies allow you to select what you want to cover or not and how much of the comprehension you want to risk or not

[Jersey42]

Let me add two more potentially significant negatives with the Princess plan.  Other cruise line plans have similar restrictions, but they are not always identical.

• Cancellation including CFAR only applies to non-refundable cruise vacation-related costs prepaid to Princess Cruises and/or Princess Tours.  I am not sure about EZAir, but it definitely does not cover anything you purchased on your own. Third party plans will cover expenses from all of your travel suppliers.
• Princess does not cover pre-existing conditions (for you or non traveling family members), while most third party plans waive the pre-existing conditions clause as long as you meet the policy requirements.  These typically include purchase within X days of your deposit and insure the full non-refundable vacation cost.  Princess uses a 60 day look back period to define pre-existing conditions. If you have a pre-existing condition, Princess will not cover Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, Trip Delay, or Medical.  They will cover Cancel For Any Reason. 

I am sure @iamtrustworthy (Steve) will offer some additional insights including the differences between insurance and vacation protection plans.

Edited June 19, 2020 by Jersey42

[iamtrustworthy]

23 hours ago, trbarton said:

I travel mainly with Princess Cruise Line. Are there advantages to purchase insurance elsewhere?  Do other policies offer things that my Princess policy doesn’t?

 

Tom😀

Hi Tom,

 

In addition to the other good info from klfrodo and Jersey42, another drawback to

 

Pre-departure waiver programs are not 100% Travel Insurance. They contain elements of insurance, but are mostly a promise to pay on the part of the cruise line, tour operator or travel supplier. (If you have a dispute, your State’s Insurance Department cannot help you).

 

I have more info on this page, too:

https://tripinsurancestore.com/travel-insurance-vs-travel-supplier-waiver-plans/

 

Steve